'Dahlia in Bloom' is a colorful portrait of 1930s Appalachia

Tallahassee writer Susan Koehler' debut novel "Dahlia in Bloom.(Photo: Special to the Democrat)

Everyone is afraid of something, but Dahlia, who is eight-and-three-quarters in 1933, is afraid of lots of things and does not understand why the new president said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It made no sense!

The book is an all-local production, published by Tallahassee's Turtle Cove Press with a book launch planned for Saturday at Midtown Reader. The cover model came through Tallahassee's Making Light Productions and was photographed by Katie Clark.

'Dahlia' tells a story of the Great Depression – not the story of how wealthy people were brought to their knees, but the story about those people who were already on their knees when the Depression rolled through the Appalachian Mountains and kicked them while they were down.

Through the eyes of Dahlia Harrell, the youngest of four children, readers learn about a mother whose hands are never idle and a father who, for the sake of a job, moves the family from the only place they ever knew – leaving their beloved grandfather behind.

The Harrell family have lived for generations in a hand-me-down cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They all wear hand-me-down clothes and hope for the next meal. Dahlia and her brother, Charlie, are tired of being poor and hungry and cling to the rumor of buried treasure under their cabin. They want to live like Mr. John D. Rockefeller, who can buy everything he wants and never has to be scared of anything.

Susan Koehler has written her first novel.(Photo: Special to the Democrat)

Before they can find any treasure, their lives are uprooted when their father takes a tenant farming job in a far-off community. In their new home, they learn to adapt to new friends, a new school, and charity from the Ladies’ Relief Society. Life is still hard, but Dahlia realizes that there are others who have it worse off, and she learns that even with very little, there is much to give.

Koehler writes a beautiful story of a time and place in American history that is given little attention for middle grade readers. Based in part on her mother’s family history, Koehler paints a picture of the Blue Ridge Mountains where flowers color the earth in spring and summer, leaves crunch underfoot in the fall, and white snow lays a cold, still blanket on the ground in winter. As she puts it, “These were desperately poor people struggling to survive.”

As Lady Bird Johnson once said, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” This is certainly true of the people of Appalachia. “I became immersed in their world and began to realize that this sect of American culture – these Appalachian mountain people and their hardscrabble existence – should be preserved in literature,” Koeler says. “And so I decided to write a book.”

"Dahlia in Bloom" is a story about “people of tremendous strength and resilience.” It is also about a little girl who learns to overcome her fears and finds that the real treasure is more precious than money. With a Kirkus starred review and a story that tugs at your heart, you will want to read this book over and over.

Judi Rundel(Photo: Special to the Democrat)

Judi Rundel is a librarian, recently retired from the Leon County Public Library System. A member of Tallahassee Writers Association, she loves reading, writing, music, knitting, and quilting. She lives in Tallahassee with her husband, Mike.